Saturday, March 18
Eugene, OR
2:00 PM
University of Oregon
19-7, 0
2
vs
1
Stanford
23-3, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Stanford
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
0
Oregon
1
0
0
0
0
1
X
2
6
1
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Ducks Take Down No. 7 Cardinal
03/18/23 | Softball
No. 20 Oregon has beaten three different top-10 teams this season after Saturday's 2-1 win over Stanford.
EUGENE, Ore. — The No. 20 Oregon softball team on Saturday recorded its third win over a top-10 opponent this season, beating No. 7 Stanford 2-1 behind the pitching of Morgan Scott and a couple of clutch hits by Allee Bunker.
Scott (4-3) allowed only an unearned run in a four-hit complete game, outdueling Stanford starter NiJaree Canady, who hadn't allowed a run all season entering Saturday. Bunker changed that with a run-scoring single to tie the game in the first inning, and the UO senior drove in another run with her fifth homer of the spring in the sixth.
Stanford (23-3) had won 21 straight entering Saturday, needing extra innings to extend that streak in the series opener Friday. But the Cardinal had few answers for Scott, who struck out four and walked just one.
"We call it 'demon mode' — she just has a look about her where we're pumped up to play behind her and we know when she's locked in and in the zone," Bunker said. "I think just the energy and her pace of play is what really helps us to thrive."
Bunker's two hits raised her average this season to .418. She led off the bottom of the sixth looking for an inside pitch from Stanford reliever Regan Krause. When Krause threw one, Bunker crushed it deep to left field.
"It's really cool when that happens, when you're looking in one spot and they end up throwing it right there," Bunker said. "Sometimes you just get lucky in that way."
How It Happened: The Cardinal manufactured a run in the top of the first. The leadoff batter reached on an infield single and advanced on a wild pitch, before taking third on a one-out single. With two out, a groundball to Bunker knuckled after hitting the dirt on a bounce, the batter reached and the runner from third scored.
She quickly atoned for the play. After KK Humphreys doubled to deep right leading off the first, Bunker laced a one-out single that tied the game.
"Luckily I was in a position where I was able to make it up with my bat, and that's just how you win games — you make a mistake, you've got to make it up somewhere," Bunker said. "So I'm glad I was able to do that."
From there, Scott settled in. She didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position over the next five innings, holding Stanford to 1-of-11 in at-bats with a runner on base.
"Morgan's good — she's got good movement, she throws the ball hard and it was great to see her really thrive in this game," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "It was a tight game all the way through, and she's cool on the mound. I love how she goes about it. These guys love playing behind her. So it was a big win for us."
The Ducks had two runners reach with two out in the second, but couldn't take advantage. Stanford's pitchers then faced the minimum over the next three innings — thanks in part to a double play that ended the fifth. But Oregon turned its own double play in the top of the sixth, energizing the UO dugout entering the bottom of the inning.
"It's hard to turn a double play in softball, and we get super excited when that happens," Bunker said. "So that definitely propelled us to be able to have a big inning the next inning."
After Bunker's go-ahead homer led off the sixth, Alyssa Daniell followed with a double. Two batters later, Allison Benning appeared to make it 3-1 with a pinch-hit single to score punch runner Kai Luschar. But an administrative error regarding the lineup changes Oregon made took the run off the board, and it was 2-1 entering the seventh.
A leadoff single, a one-out wild pitch and a groundball out put the potential tying run at third with two out. But the last batter of the game lofted a soft line drive that UO shortstop Paige Sinicki leaped to catch, preserving the win.
Notable: Bunker extended her hitting streak to seven games. … Bunker passed Samantha Pappas (2010-13) for eighth in UO career runs with 148. … Scott threw her first seven-inning complete game as a Duck. … Oregon is 4-0 in one-run games this season, and 8-2 in games decided by two runs or less.
Quotable:
Senior pitcher Morgan Scott on her mentality in the circle this week
"Before this weekend, I had a talk with Coach Lombardi about coming out and playing the way I know how to play. I feel like it's shown up a couple of times this season, but sometimes it hasn't. And I needed to check myself and get my mentality of, I'm not a contact pitcher, I'm a strikeout pitcher, and I'm more power than anything else. So that was the main thing I tried to focus on this weekend."
Senior infielder Allee Bunker on the importance of a win Saturday
"The Pac is the toughest conference to play in. You're playing a top-10, top-20 opponent every single weekend. If you want to win the Pac, you've got to beat those teams. And if you want to go far in postseason, you have to beat those teams. This postseason mentality for our team has been shining through. We've had a lot of top-20 wins, which is really cool to see because that's what it's gonna take to go far."
Up Next: The rubber match in the series is Sunday (noon, Pac-12 Network).
Scott (4-3) allowed only an unearned run in a four-hit complete game, outdueling Stanford starter NiJaree Canady, who hadn't allowed a run all season entering Saturday. Bunker changed that with a run-scoring single to tie the game in the first inning, and the UO senior drove in another run with her fifth homer of the spring in the sixth.
Stanford (23-3) had won 21 straight entering Saturday, needing extra innings to extend that streak in the series opener Friday. But the Cardinal had few answers for Scott, who struck out four and walked just one.
"We call it 'demon mode' — she just has a look about her where we're pumped up to play behind her and we know when she's locked in and in the zone," Bunker said. "I think just the energy and her pace of play is what really helps us to thrive."
Bunker's two hits raised her average this season to .418. She led off the bottom of the sixth looking for an inside pitch from Stanford reliever Regan Krause. When Krause threw one, Bunker crushed it deep to left field.
"It's really cool when that happens, when you're looking in one spot and they end up throwing it right there," Bunker said. "Sometimes you just get lucky in that way."
How It Happened: The Cardinal manufactured a run in the top of the first. The leadoff batter reached on an infield single and advanced on a wild pitch, before taking third on a one-out single. With two out, a groundball to Bunker knuckled after hitting the dirt on a bounce, the batter reached and the runner from third scored.
She quickly atoned for the play. After KK Humphreys doubled to deep right leading off the first, Bunker laced a one-out single that tied the game.
Streak snapped ??
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) March 19, 2023
No. 20 @OregonSB evens the series with No. 7 Stanford to set up a rubber match tomorrow at noon. Full recap ?? pic.twitter.com/uaeBJBSovy
"Luckily I was in a position where I was able to make it up with my bat, and that's just how you win games — you make a mistake, you've got to make it up somewhere," Bunker said. "So I'm glad I was able to do that."
From there, Scott settled in. She didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position over the next five innings, holding Stanford to 1-of-11 in at-bats with a runner on base.
"Morgan's good — she's got good movement, she throws the ball hard and it was great to see her really thrive in this game," UO coach Melyssa Lombardi said. "It was a tight game all the way through, and she's cool on the mound. I love how she goes about it. These guys love playing behind her. So it was a big win for us."
The Ducks had two runners reach with two out in the second, but couldn't take advantage. Stanford's pitchers then faced the minimum over the next three innings — thanks in part to a double play that ended the fifth. But Oregon turned its own double play in the top of the sixth, energizing the UO dugout entering the bottom of the inning.
"It's hard to turn a double play in softball, and we get super excited when that happens," Bunker said. "So that definitely propelled us to be able to have a big inning the next inning."
After Bunker's go-ahead homer led off the sixth, Alyssa Daniell followed with a double. Two batters later, Allison Benning appeared to make it 3-1 with a pinch-hit single to score punch runner Kai Luschar. But an administrative error regarding the lineup changes Oregon made took the run off the board, and it was 2-1 entering the seventh.
A leadoff single, a one-out wild pitch and a groundball out put the potential tying run at third with two out. But the last batter of the game lofted a soft line drive that UO shortstop Paige Sinicki leaped to catch, preserving the win.
Notable: Bunker extended her hitting streak to seven games. … Bunker passed Samantha Pappas (2010-13) for eighth in UO career runs with 148. … Scott threw her first seven-inning complete game as a Duck. … Oregon is 4-0 in one-run games this season, and 8-2 in games decided by two runs or less.
Quotable:
Senior pitcher Morgan Scott on her mentality in the circle this week
"Before this weekend, I had a talk with Coach Lombardi about coming out and playing the way I know how to play. I feel like it's shown up a couple of times this season, but sometimes it hasn't. And I needed to check myself and get my mentality of, I'm not a contact pitcher, I'm a strikeout pitcher, and I'm more power than anything else. So that was the main thing I tried to focus on this weekend."
Senior infielder Allee Bunker on the importance of a win Saturday
"The Pac is the toughest conference to play in. You're playing a top-10, top-20 opponent every single weekend. If you want to win the Pac, you've got to beat those teams. And if you want to go far in postseason, you have to beat those teams. This postseason mentality for our team has been shining through. We've had a lot of top-20 wins, which is really cool to see because that's what it's gonna take to go far."
Up Next: The rubber match in the series is Sunday (noon, Pac-12 Network).
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Scott, Morgan (4-3)
L: Krause, Regan (5-2)
Base Running:
RUNS: Gindlesperger, T. 1
Batting:
2B: Humphreys, KK 1 ; Daniell, Alyssa 1
HR: Bunker, Allee 1
RBI: Bunker, Allee 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Humphreys, KK 1 ; Bunker, Allee 1
HBP: Delgado, Hanna 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
RHP/DP
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballINF
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